Synthesis of ZnO particles on zinc foil in ionic-liquid precursors

Abstract

Structurally similar ionic-liquid precursors are explored for the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles on zinc foil. During the synthesis, the ionic-liquid precursors have multi-functions such as reactant, solvent and template. Experiments are performed at different ionic-liquid precursor concentrations. Results demonstrates that different ZnO nanostructures with uniform size and morphology can be synthesized from tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAH), tetraethylammonium hydroxide (TEAH), tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) and benzyltrimethylammonium hydroxide (BTMAH) ionic-liquid precursors on the surface of zinc foil. The formation mechanism of the synthesized particles is proposed based on the experimental results.